China's JD.com reports 5% rise in quarterly revenue, beating estimates

[BEIJING] Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com said on Tuesday (May 12) its first-quarter revenue climbed 4.9 per cent, helped in part by a new round of government subsidies for electronic goods aimed at spurring lacklustre consumer demand.

US-listed shares of JD.com rose more than 3 per cent in premarket trading.

China, the world’s second-largest economy, has long been struggling with weak consumer confidence due to a prolonged slump in its property sector and tensions with the United States that have weighed on exporters.

While China is coping better than many other countries with the fallout from the Iran war, the conflict has also resulted in some increases in the cost of living as fuel prices have climbed.

Still, a new round of subsidies from local Chinese governments that encourage consumers to trade in old appliances and electronics may have helped limit declines in revenue for JD.com, the biggest retailer of such goods in China.

The benefits of such subsidies, however, are expected to fade in the quarters to come given that previous rounds of subsidies have already been well-utilised.

JD.com said revenue for the quarter ended March came in at 315.7 billion yuan (S$59.15 billion), which beat an LSEG consensus estimate of 311.8 billion yuan drawn from 15 analysts. REUTERS